Burmese Days

by

George Orwell

Themes and Colors
Imperialism and Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Status and Racism Theme Icon
Class, Gender, and Sex Theme Icon
Freedom of Speech, Self-Expression, and Loneliness Theme Icon
Friendship and Loyalty Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Burmese Days, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Friendship and Loyalty Theme Icon

In Burmese Days, friendship means loyalty. The novel, set in British colonial Burma in the 1920s, suggests that British imperial culture discourages friendship between the colonizing British and colonized peoples because it might lead British people to feel more loyalty to their colonized friends than to imperialism or whiteness. This dynamic appears in the friendship between British timber merchant John Flory and Indian jail superintendent Dr. Veraswami. The other British characters clearly feel threatened by the friendship, insulting both Veraswami and Flory with racist and homophobic slurs. Initially, Flory fails to demonstrate loyalty or true friendship to Veraswami, signing a racist notice that a disparaging company manager named Ellis writes about Veraswami to avoid a fight with the other Europeans in Kyauktada, the colonial outpost where he works. Yet later, Flory defends his friendship with Veraswami and his own self-respect by nominating Veraswami for membership in the European Club, a position that would protect Veraswami from slander by his enemy, ambitious local official U Po Kyin. Flory’s actions outrage the other Club members who want to keep the organization all-white, showing how true friendship—which requires loyalty—can subvert existing power structures and hierarchies.       

Related Themes from Other Texts
Compare and contrast themes from other texts to this theme…

Friendship and Loyalty ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Friendship and Loyalty appears in each chapter of Burmese Days. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
How often theme appears:
chapter length:
Get the entire Burmese Days LitChart as a printable PDF.
Burmese Days PDF

Friendship and Loyalty Quotes in Burmese Days

Below you will find the important quotes in Burmese Days related to the theme of Friendship and Loyalty.
Chapter 1 Quotes

“But Flory will desert his friend quickly enough when the trouble begins. These people have no feeling of loyalty towards a native.”

Related Characters: U Po Kyin (speaker), John Flory, Dr. Veraswami
Page Number: 12
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

With Indians there must be no loyalty, no real friendship. […] What shall it profit a man if he save his own soul and lose the whole world?

Related Characters: John Flory, U Po Kyin, Dr. Veraswami
Page Number: 78–79
Explanation and Analysis: